Vera brittain biography

English nurse and writer (1893–1970)

Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Whole component (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist^[1] and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth recounted her experiences during the Premier World War and the go over of her journey towards philosophy.

Life and work

Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, Vera Brittain was illustriousness daughter of a well-to-do bit manufacturer, (Thomas) Arthur Brittain (1864–1935) and his wife, Edith Rub (Bervon) Brittain (1868–1948). Her curate was a director of family-owned paper mills in Hanley plus Cheddleton.

Her mother was aboriginal in Aberystwyth, Wales, the lass of an impoverished musician, Toilet Inglis Bervon.^[2]

When Brittain was 18 months old, her family sham to Macclesfield, Cheshire, and 10 years later, in 1905, they moved again, to the look to town of Buxton in Derbyshire. As Brittain was growing campaign, her only sibling, her fellow Edward, nearly two years draw junior, was her closest mate.

From the age of 13, she attended boarding-school at Upbeat Monica's, Kingswood, Surrey where uncultivated mother's sister, Aunt Florence (Miss Bervon), was co-principal with Louise Heath-Jones, who had attended Newnham College, Cambridge.

After two discretion as a "provincial debutante", Brittain overcame her father's objections duct went up to Somerville Institution, Oxford, to read English Information.

By this time, war locked away broken out and Brittain challenging become close to Roland Leighton, one of her brother's associates from Uppingham School. Finding become public Oxford studies increasingly an pettiness as her male contemporaries volunteered for war, Brittain delayed accumulate degree after one year bank the summer of 1915 force to work as a Voluntary Force to Detachment (VAD) nurse for such of the First World Contest.

She served initially at integrity Devonshire Hospital in Buxton, spreadsheet later in London, Malta tolerate in France. While stationed fast to the front at Etaples, her experience nursing German prisoners of war significantly influenced recipe journey towards internationalism and philosophy.

Roland Leighton, who became on his fiancé in August 1915, ending friends Victor Richardson and Geoffrey Thurlow, and finally her relative Edward were all killed radiate the war.^[3] Many of their letters to each other wish for reproduced in the book Letters from a Lost Generation.

Demonstrate one letter, Leighton speaks annoyed his generation of public-school volunteers when he writes that yes feels the need to entertainment an "active part" in influence war.^[4]

Returning to Oxford in 1919 to read history, Brittain overawe it difficult as "a armed conflict survivor" to adjust to struggle in postwar society.

She tumble Winifred Holtby at Somerville, elitist a close friendship developed. They both aspired to become planted on the London literary aspect, and shared various London set after coming down from Town. Eventually Holtby would become textile of the Brittain-Catlin household later Brittain's marriage. The bond lasted until Holtby's death from type failure in 1935.^[5] Other bookish contemporaries at Somerville included Dorothy L.

Sayers, Hilda Reid, Margaret Kennedy and Sylvia Thompson.

In 1925, Brittain married George Catlin, a political scientist (1896–1979). Their son, John Brittain-Catlin (1927–1987), whose relationship with his mother bit by bit deteriorated as he got higher ranking, was an artist, painter, tradesman and the author of greatness posthumously published autobiography Family Quartet, which appeared in 1987.

Their daughter, born 1930, was righteousness former Labour Cabinet Minister, next Liberal Democrat peer, Shirley Playwright (1930–2021), one of the "Gang of Four" rebels on rectitude Social Democratic wing of honesty Labour Party who founded authority SDP in 1981. Like Brittain, George Catlin was raised Protestant, as his father was be over Anglican clergyman, but unlike brew, Catlin had converted to interpretation Catholic Church.

Brittain's first publicised novel, The Dark Tide (1923), created scandal as it caricatured dons at Oxford, especially submit Somerville. In 1933, she promulgated the work for which she became famous, Testament of Youth, followed in 1940 by Testament of Friendship— her tribute relating to and biography of Winifred Holtby —and Testament of Experience (1957), the continuation of her belittle story, which spanned the length of existence between 1925 and 1950.

Brittain based many of her novels on actual experiences and trustworthy people. In this regard, sit on novel Honourable Estate (1936) was autobiographical, dealing with her bed demoted friendship with the novelist Phyllis Bentley, her romantic feelings spokesperson her American publisher George Brett Jr, and her brother Edward's death in action on nobleness Italian Front in 1918.

Brittain's diaries from 1913 to 1917 were published in 1981 introduction Chronicle of Youth. Some critics have argued that Testament incessantly Youth often differs markedly stranger Brittain's writings during the clash, especially in respect of bitterness attitudes towards the war, which were more conventional in 1914–18.^[6]

In the 1920s, Brittain was spruce up widely published journalist, in Time and Tide and many keep inside newspapers and journals.

At that time, she also became a-okay regular speaker on behalf execute the League of Nations Integrity, supporting the idea of accommodate security. However, in June 1936, in the wake of authority bestsellerdom of Testament of Youth on both sides of rendering Atlantic, she was invited keep speak at a vast composure rally at Maumbury Rings emphasis Dorchester, where she shared unblended platform with various pacifists, counting sponsors of the Peace Wager Union, the largest pacifist constitution in Britain: Dick Sheppard, Martyr Lansbury, Laurence Housman, and Donald Soper.

Afterwards, Sheppard invited join to join the Peace Venture Union as sponsor.

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Following sise months' careful reflection, she replied in January 1937 to maintain she would. Later that generation, Brittain also joined the Protestant Pacifist Fellowship. Her newly basement pacifism, increasingly Christian in incitement, came to the fore next to the Second World War, conj at the time that she began the series exhaustive Letters to Peacelovers.

She was a practical pacifist in description sense that she helped interpretation war effort by working style a fire warden and overstep travelling around the country fosterage funds for the Peace Oath Union's food relief campaign. She was vilified for speaking copy against saturation bombing of Germanic cities through her 1944 pamphlet, published as Seed of Chaos in Britain and as Massacre by Bombing in the Coalesced States.

In 1945, the Nazis'Black Book of nearly 3,000 children to be immediately arrested satisfaction Britain after a German descent was shown to include back up name.^[7]

From the 1930s onwards, Brittain was a regular contributor be obliged to the pacifist magazine Peace News. She eventually became a associate of the magazine's editorial surface and during the 1950s take 1960s was "writing articles antagonistic apartheid and colonialism and suspend favour of nuclear disarmament".^[8]

In Nov 1966, she suffered a despair in a badly lit Author street en route to expert speaking engagement at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

She attended the engagement, on the other hand afterwards found she had fragmented her left arm and shivered the little finger of go to pieces right hand. These injuries began a physical decline in which her mind became more mixed up and withdrawn.^[9] Around this heart, the BBC interviewed her; during the time that asked of her memories strip off Roland Leighton, she replied: "Who is Roland"?

Brittain never vigilantly got over the death break down June 1918 of her darling brother, Edward. She died add on Wimbledon on 29 March 1970, aged 76. Her will desired that her ashes be circuitous on Edward's grave on loftiness Asiago Plateau in Italy – " nearly 50 years often of my heart has archaic in that Italian village cemetery"^[10]— and her daughter honoured that request in September 1970.^[11] Wearying of Brittain's ashes were subterranean clandestin in 1979 in the immersed of her husband Sir Martyr Catlin in the churchyard sum St James the Great, defer Old Milverton in Warwickshire.

Cultural legacy

Brittain was portrayed by Cheryl Campbell in the 1979 BBC2 television adaptation of Testament unredeemed Youth.

Songwriter and fellow Protestant Pacifist Fellowship member Sue Gilmurray wrote a song in Brittain's memory, titled "Vera".^[12]

In 1996, Representation Great War and the Proportion of the 20th Century movie series aired on PBS.

Bust chronicles World War I pick up the check eight episodes. Brittian's writings captain experiences are covered in Event 3 "Total War".

In 1998, Brittain's First World War dialogue were edited by Alan Canon and Mark Bostridge and publicised under the title Letters deprive a Lost Generation. They were also adapted by Bostridge luggage compartment a BBC Radio 4 leanto starring Amanda Root and Prince Graves.

Because You Died, straight new selection of Brittain's Control World War poetry and language, edited by Mark Bostridge, was published by Virago in 2008 to commemorate the 90th feast of the Armistice.

On 9 November 2008, BBC One outer shell an hour-length television documentary okay Brittain as part of take the edge off Remembrance Day programmes hosted prep between Jo Brand titled A Female in Love and War: Vera Brittain, where she was depicted by Katherine Manners.^[13]

In February 2009, it was reported that BBC Films was to adapt Brittain's memoir Testament of Youth jerk a feature film.^[14] Irish performer Saoirse Ronan was cast tell off play Brittain at first.^[15] Regardless, in December 2013, it was announced that Swedish actress Alicia Vikander would be playing Brittain in the film, which was released at the end addendum 2014 as part of nobility First World War commemorations.^[16][17] Class film also starred Kit Harington,^[18]Colin Morgan, Taron Egerton, Alexandra Roach,^[19]Dominic West, Emily Watson, Joanna Scanlan, Hayley Atwell, Jonathan Bailey crucial Anna Chancellor.^[20]David Heyman (producer pattern the Harry Potter films) post Rosie Alison were the producers.

On 9 November 2018, efficient Wall Street Journal opinion comment by Aaron Schnoor honoured rendering poetry of the First Sphere War, including Brittain's poem "Perhaps".^[21]

On 7 July 2023, Buxton Holy day staged the first of practised run of performances of The Land of Might-Have-Been, a tuneful show drawing on existing songs by Ivor Novello, presenting ingenious fictionalised version of Brittain's character in 1914 and 1915, extract exploring her relationships with Roland, Edward and Edward's (fictional) homophile lover Bobbie Jones, and honourableness impact the war had unremitting them.^[22]

Plaques marking Brittain's former houses case can be seen at 9 Sidmouth Avenue, Newcastle-under-Lyme;^[23] 151 Feel embarrassed Road, Buxton;^[24]Doughty Street, Bloomsbury; prosperous 117 Wymering Mansions, Maida Dale, west London.^[25] There is along with a plaque in the Buxton Pavilion Gardens, commemorating Brittain's dwelling-place in the town, though illustriousness dates shown on the record for her time there varying incorrect.

Vera Brittain's archive was sold in 1971 to Historian University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A further collection of annals, amassed during the writing be expeditious for the authorised biography of Brittain, was donated to Somerville Institute Library, Oxford, by Paul Drupelet and Mark Bostridge.^[26]

• Plaque at 58 Doughty Street, London

• Tombstone of Prince Brittain, Granezza British Cemetery, Asiago Plateau

• A promenade bears the term of Vera Brittain in Hamburg-Hammerbrook

• Vera Brittain Promenade, Hamburg

Selected bibliography

• 1923 – The Dark Tide
• 1929 – Halcyon: Or, The Future of Monogamy (To-day and To-morrow pamphlet series)
• 1933 – Testament of Youth
• 1936 – Honourable Estate
• 1938 – Thrice swell Stranger.

  New Chapters of Autobiography

• 1940 – Testament of Friendship, honourableness Story of Winifred Holtby
• 1940 – England's Hour
• 1942 – Humiliation Criticism Honour
• 1944 – Seed of Chaos (Massacre by Bombing: U.S. title)
• 1947 - On Becoming a Writer
• 1948 – Born 1925, A Newfangled of Youth
• 1950 - In greatness Steps of John Bunyan.

  Plug up Excursion into Puritan England

• 1951 - Search After Sunrise
• 1953 - Lady into Woman. A History go Women from Victoria to Elizabeth II
• 1957 – * 1957 - Testament of Experience. An Life Story of the Years 1925-1950. Sequel to: Testament of Youth, 1933
• 1960 - The Women submit Oxford : A Fragment of History
• 1963 - Pethick-Lawrence, A Portrait
• 1968 – Radclyffe Hall.

  A Case nigh on Obscenity?

• 1981 - Chronicle of Salad days, War Diary 1913-1917, edited soak Alan Bishop with Terry Smart
• 1985 – Testament of a Reproduction. The Journalism of Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby, edited wishy-washy Paul Berry and Alan Bishop
• 1986 - Chronicle of Friendship.

  Engagement book of the Thirties, 1932-1939/ Development to: Chronicle of Youth, Fighting Diary 1913-1917, 1981

• 1989 - Diary 1939-1945. War Time Chronicle
• 1998 – Letters from a Lost Generation, edited by Alan Bishop favour Mark Bostridge
• 2008 – Because Command Died.

  Poetry and Prose sell the First World War take precedence After, edited and introduced gross Mark Bostridge

Biographies

• Hilary Bailey, Vera Brittain, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1987. ISBN 0140080031
• Jean E. Kennard, Vera Brittain & Winifred Holtby.

  Dinky working partnership, Hanover, NH: College Press of New England, sustenance University of New Hampshire, 1989 ISBN 0-87451-474-6

• Paul Berry and Mark Bostridge, Vera Brittain: A Life, Chatto & Windus, 1995, Pimlico, 1996, Virago, 2001, 2008 ISBN 1-86049-872-8.
• Deborah Gorham, Vera Brittain: A Feminist Life, University of Toronto Press, 2000.

  ISBN 0-8020-8339-0.

• Mark Bostridge, Vera Brittain delighted the First World War, Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408188446OCLC 902612485

See also

Notes

References

External links